Software Could be the Least Important Result of a Project

“[Deliverables] is the least important level of an impact map. Don’t try to make it complete from the start. Refine it iteratively as you deliver. Treat deliverables as options, don’t take it for granted that everything listed here will actually be delivered. Don’t go into a lot of details early on, there will be time for that later.”

This is a quote from the “Impact Mapping” book written by Gojko Adzic. This book propose an approach that suggests a good sequence of the questions that should be asked before starting a software development project: why?, with/for whom?, how?, what? This approach follows the trend to focus first on “doing the right thing” before thinking of “doing the things right”. As software developers, we might have a tendency to jump to the solution phase: “there is an app for that!” Spending more time to understand what the problem is could help the project to produce a better solution. And we should remind us that software might not be the best or most important way to solve a business problem. Sometimes a good face to face conversation is better than e-mail. ;O)